Electronic documents typically include semantic information that would be helpful if the information was recognized as such. Recognition and use of this semantic information could result in increased interoperability between desktop software applications and other desktop applications and/or web-based applications. Recognition of this semantic information may also provide benefits in electronic commerce. Independent third parties should also be able to easily develop list of terms for recognition without the need to create compiled dynamic link libraries (DLLs).
Independent software developers and individual users are often in the best position to determine the semantic information that needs to be recognized in electronic documents. For example, a corporation's IT department knows the format of part numbers, employee numbers, and other semantic information that may be important to individuals in their corporation. Thus, there is a need for a system and method that allows users to define the format of semantic information to be recognized and to provide actions based on the defined semantic information. There is a further need to make this method and system as simple as possible so that the population of developers is increased and so that those who are best able to define semantic information are able to do so.